McLaren P1: Pictures of the New Supercar

McLaren, maker of the epic MP4-12C, has started to unveil pictures of its newest supercar, the P1. Specs will come next.

Words like fastest, best, quickest and most rewarding already fill descriptions of the car, and no official specifications have been released. What we do have, though, are pictures of what the P1 will look like. While there are certain hints of the MP4-12C, I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything quite like this much-anticipated follow-up to the legendary F1.

While not necessarily gunning for the title of fastest production car ever, McLaren seems to want this car to be the overall best supercar… ever.

We expect the P1 to combine the 3.8-liter V8 from the MP4-12C with some kind of hybrid system that could approach 1,000 hp in total. In a statement, McLaren managing director Antony Sherriff says the P1 will be,

the most exciting, most capable, most technologically advanced and most dynamically accomplished supercar ever made… not necessarily to be the fastest in absolute top speed but to be the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a circuit.

Full specs should be released in the months after next week’s Paris Motor Show, which we’ll follow closely!

Before you get too excited, it should be noted that the McLaren press release calls these pictures a “design study,” but also says the car should go on sale within 12 months. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.

As impressive (by supercar standards) as McLaren specs can be, I’ve never been impressed or pleased by their styling. This new car is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Even the Veyron, which looks like a Japanese toilet, looks better. The McLaren looks like an overstyled sneaker. Funny how car makers like Ferrari, Lambourghini and Aston can make such beautifully styled cars while some make dog toys.